NATO Foreign Ministers Sift Through Membership Hopefuls

NATO Foreign Ministers Sift Through Membership Hopefuls

03.12.2009 11:04

By Ahto Lobjakas

BRUSSELS -- NATO foreign ministers gathered today to debate whether to hand Membership Action Plans (MAPs) -- essential stepping stones on the road toward alliance membership -- to Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Diplomats said that while Montenegro was likely to receive a MAP today, Bosnia, seen by many NATO members as too unstable, might have to wait until next year.

NATO foreign ministers were also to meet their colleagues from Ukraine and Georgia. Both countries were expected be told that NATO's door remains open to them, although neither can hope to get a MAP in the short term.

Speaking at NATO headquarters in Brussels ahead of the meeting, the alliance's secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said the decisions on Montenegro and Bosnia would be based on each country's "own individual merits."

Lively Controversy

Behind the scenes, however, NATO sources said the picture was murkier than Rasmussen was indicating.

Montenegro was seen as a shoo-in and should get its MAP without major hiccups today.

Bosnia, however, is the subject of lively controversy within NATO and is likely to miss out today. A federal state conspicuously struggling to contain ethnic divisions between its two constituent parts -- Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation -- Bosnia is seen by Germany, France -- and, to a lesser degree, Britain -- as unprepared for a MAP.

Turkey leads Bosnia's supporters, whose ranks include the other Balkan nations, Southeast European allies, and Spain. Ankara has called a separate meeting on Bosnia's MAP ambitions for this morning, ahead of the scheduled NATO deliberations.

Bosnia's detractors argue that as it remains under the supervision of the international community -- via the Office of the High Representative, currently held by Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko -- the country does not yet qualify as a fully sovereign state. There are also longer-term fears that Bosnia's internal divisions could carry over into NATO where, as a member state, it would enjoy the right of veto over alliance decisions.

Bosnia's supporters say its quick accession to NATO would contribute to the stability of the country and the region. Seeking NATO membership is, in fact, one of the few goals Bosnia's three ethnic communities share. Bosnia's backers also point out that the country was this year made a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council.

NATO officials said that the stance of the United States was likely to prove decisive. So far, Washington has sided with the skeptics. If this remains the case today, Bosnia's MAP will have to wait until NATO foreign ministers meet again in Tallinn, Estonia, in April 2010 -- if not longer.

Ukraine, Georgia Pledges Remain

Foreign ministers from two additional MAP hopefuls, Ukraine and Georgia, were to hold separate meetings with NATO. The alliance was expected to broadly welcome the progress both countries have made under their annual individual action plans.

Rasmussen said on December 2 that both would also be told that the pledge on their eventual inclusion, made by NATO at its 2008 Bucharest summit, remains in force.

"They will become NATO members when they meet the standards, and if they so desire," Rasmussen said. "We will be discussing progress in reform, which NATO will continue to support."

In the foreseeable future, MAPs will continue to be ruled out for both Georgia and Ukraine, given the overwhelming opposition of most Western European allies. Patching up relations with Russia, which vehemently opposes either country's NATO membership, is currently one of NATO's most important stated strategic goals, one now shared by U.S. President Barack Obama.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/NATO_To_Discuss_Afghanistan_Meet_With_Ukraine_Georgia_Russia/1893768.html

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NATO Foreign Ministers Sift Through Membership Hopefuls